Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
Recently I looked at an interesting special-order color Cayman that had a few too many mods in an off-beat color combination to really be desirable:
Well, I’m back with another odd color combination on a Cayman S, but I think this one is a whole lot more desirable. So let’s check out this Forest Green Metallic over Sand Beige leather 987 S:
While the Porsche 986 Boxster might have been the car that saved Porsche with its massive popularity, the 987-derived Cayman was what made the mid-engine design popular with track enthusiasts. Especially in more potent “S†form, the Cayman is a giant killer with sublime vehicle dynamics and plenty of punch even without a turbo. The 987 refresh in 2005 fixed many of the perceived visual faults of the 986 Boxster design with a slant towards a more aggressive look. The Coupe added a smooth, flowing hatchback line to the 997-inspired exterior, creating a lightweight, 7/8ths scale mid-engine 911. That it was less expensive than the traditional flat-6 lineup didn’t hurt, either. It was, and remains, a hit.
Despite that, it’s not a car that we feature often here. I’m not sure why, because the Cayman S is really one of the more affordable ways to get into a newer Porsche coupe. On the downside, that means that it’s not usual to find modified examples, and today’s car falls into that category. However, despite the mods I think it’s worth a look for a few reasons – probably the most notable of which is the color combination.
From the first time I saw the 981 I was smitten. The redesign seemed to bring both the Boxster and Cayman into their own better than with previous designs, but it was the Cayman that really caught my eye. The slightly longer wheelbase seems to work very well with the body. It also has a Ferrari 430 look about it, though I’m honestly not sure how I feel about that since the 430 is far from my favorite Ferrari (even if it’s an improvement on its predecessor). Regardless, I like the 981 Cayman quite a bit. That the model culminated with the absolutely wonderful GT4 has drawn me to it even further.
I don’t tend to feature them all that often, but this one caught my eye. It’s more subtlety pretty than something that’ll stop you in your tracks. The dark blue is elegant, rather than flashy, and the total package seems a desirable one. Here we have a Dark Blue Metallic 2015 Porsche Cayman S, located in St. Louis, with Luxor Beige interior and 39,365 miles on it. It’s equipped with power sport seats and a 6-speed manual transmission. Excellent!
I sometimes feel I am neglectful of the Porsche Cayman. I write almost exclusively about Porsches and it turns out equally exclusively about the 911. This is by choice, not necessarily by design. The Cayman is (in relative terms) the new kid on the block for Porsche so it doesn’t always possess the sort of historicity that remains rooted in my brain. In simpler terms: these were not the Porsches that captivated me as a kid; not the Porsches that I saw on posters and dreamed about. All of this may be to my loss.
The Cayman is a fantastic car possessing inherently better dynamic balance than its much more well known sibling, the 911. Porsche has been oft criticized for holding the Cayman back, portrayed as fearful that it would overtake their beloved 911, but that doesn’t make the Cayman a family sedan. Impeccable balance, impeccable feel, and still plenty of power for everyday use characterize the chassis. In S specification with a 6-speed manual transmission you’re getting nearly 300 horses propelling a car weighing just over 3,000 pounds. That’s good for 0-60 in around 5 seconds and should you so desire you’ll top out north of 170 mph – not too shabby. There really is a lot to love with these cars and here we have one that comes from the very beginning: an Indischrot 2006 Porsche Cayman S with Sand Beige leather interior and just 31,000 miles on it.
As Spring 2017 officially kicks off today, my thoughts inevitably turn towards the track. While race series at Daytona, Sebring, Formula 1 (final testing, at least) and even Goodwood have already commenced, as I look out my window there’s still a layer of snow covering the ground and temperatures have barely crept past freezing. It certainly doesn’t feel like Spring yet, but that doesn’t mean that preparation for heading to the track can’t begin. And though I dearly love tracking my Audi Coupe GT and it’s racked up some serious mileage on the race courses of New England, I can’t help but think that maybe it’s time for something newer. Maybe something like a Porsche Cayman, the “affordable” way into a track-friendly performance Porsche:
